What If Your Father Was 17?
by bethyreddingrocks
Summary: This is the basic 17 Again storyline. Except Maggie finds out about her dad. I do not own this story! It rightfully belongs to the film 17 Again. Please review! Sorry I'm bad at summaries!
1. Dad's Idea of Family Time

**What if your father was 17?**

"Fifteen more minutes until I need your papers," Mr. Marlen announced from over the top of his book.

No problem. This math final was simply too easy although it was already advanced criteria. I read the problem, easily worked it out in neat scrawl, and filled in the bubble neatly with care. Someone kicked my desk from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see my boyfriend Stan. The corners of his mouth turned up and he gave me a smirk.

Stan was eighteen and was on Hayden's basketball team. Unlike me, he had muscles where his brains should've been. That's what he is, a giant muscle, standing at six foot two while weighing over two hundred and fifty pounds. His sandy blond hair appeared almost an ashy grey under the illuminating classroom light. His eyes, a hard steel grey, protruded into mine while the snake tattoo on his neck bulged. I knew what he wanted. Test answers.

Shooting a quick glance at his paper, I noticed it wasn't even halfway completed. He looked at me again and cocked his head. He was basically asking, _"Hey Maggie? How about you give me the test answers already and stop being a bitch?"_

I was prepared to when I heard someone give an interrupting clear of their throat. Mr. Marlen actually had put down his book and was staring straight at us. Not wanting to be in trouble, I whipped around and concentrated on my test. Stan mumbled a string of cuss words under his breath. This was how I thought of myself, the good girl always trying to act bad. And I was. I always wore my completely black outfits and dark make up. Today I was wearing black denim jeans that made my curves stand out, a flashy tight-fitted black tank top that highlighted my cleavage, and black leather boots that went up my thighs. I also sported thick eyeliner around my startling, electric blue eyes. Seemingly making them pop out of my head.

I ran a hand through my silky long black hair. My skin was snow against my heavy down of dark hair. Sure, I could pass for the rebellious look, but the only reason I put on this look was to impress Stan, and true to my word, he was my boyfriend before the end of the first semester.

Collecting myself from my thoughts, I easily filled in the last bubble. With a quick movement, I brushed out of my seat and strode to the front of the class room. I handed my test to Mr. Marlen and quickly sat down in my seat located in the front of the classroom. Maggie O'Donell was usually one of the first names on the attendance roll usually resulting in me being planted in the first row. The bell nosily rang.

"I need your papers!" Mr. Marlen shouted a reminder. Stan roughly pushed out of his seat clutching the test form in his hand. I noticed Stan didn't make much progress from the last time I saw his paper. Oh well, he would just have to really impress those Ohio scouts that were coming in a few weeks. I shoved out the door along with my fellow peers out into the over-crowded hallway. Pushing through the sea of people, I finally reached my locker to find Stan already waiting there. Before I had time to say his name, he forcefully pushed me against his body and fiercely kissed me. My books fell to the ground. His body was working against my own. I finally had to push him away so I could breathe.

Stan grinned. "That was little fun Maggie. If you want some more, I'm open twenty four hours a day."

I laughed. "Trying to keep your motivational jibes down today, Stan? Huh?"

He smirked again and said sarcastically and slowly, "You know me too well, Mags."

"Well, I am smart." I kissed him again when I caught him looking south. "Not yet," I hissed in his ear.

"Eh hem," Cheyenne was staring at me. She was a little on the trashy side, but she was good to have by your side in a party. She could either make or break any wild party. Her dark hair was in a blowout and she was wearing the shortest red dress I had ever seen. Whenever she leaned forward, I thought her boobs would fall out of her dress completely.

Padma flitted to her side. "Bye Stan." Padma was much smaller and looked more innocent then Cheyenne, but what grab any man if she ever got the chance.

Stan looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh and stalked away with a group of his buddies that appeared out of nowhere. Taylor, the dimwitted, sociable, blonde of the group appeared too. That was when I noticed she wasn't wearing her Hayden cheerleader uniform. Apparently, I wasn't the only one to notice.

"Where's your uniform?" Padma asked.

Taylor shrugged like she had lost a goldfish she barely remembered the name of. "Coach Lawrence took it away because I slept with the student coach Cody."

"You did that?" I almost shouted.

Cheyenne looked disappointed like she had lost out on a million dollars. "Man, why didn't I think of that first."

I shook my disbelieving head. Really? The assistant coach? I was on my way to economics when I saw someone I never expected to be here. My dad, Mike O'Donell.

He was staring at the trophy case. Of course he was. I knew he was looking at an old picture of him and his team from 1989. My dad had been the high school basketball star when he went to Hayden. In fact, the picture had been taken right before the big game which could've been able to give him a full scholarship to college. The same game where my mother told him she was pregnant with me. Resulting in his decision to give up his future and marry my mother, Scarlet, instead. For as long as I could remember, he blamed my mother for his failures and said she was the reason he failed in life. Now, thanks to him, my parents are getting a divorce. Sometimes it makes me mad to even just look at him and know he's the reason my family's breaking up.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" I ask, sounding more surprised then I meant too. He turned around and faced me with his blue eyes- my eyes.

"Hi, Mr. O'Donell." I heard Padma giggle behind me.

"I was just talking to..." he looked around confused for a second. "...never mind. Anyway, I got off work early and I thought we could go for some ice cream."

I wondered what happened at his work. "Now? But why?" I asked, but it came out sounding like a complain.

He clearly wasn't in the mood to answer questions. "Just get your brother, okay?" I sighed and ran off to find Alex.

Alex was my younger brother. He was a junior and about a year or so younger then me. He took after Mom more with his blonde hair with tints of copper and warm teak eyes. He looked up and saw me glaring at him through the door window. Impatiently, I motioned for him to come out. He raised his hand and quickly said something to the teacher. The teacher must've said yes because before I knew it, he was standing out in the hall next to me.

He looked slightly pissed, but had that lost puppy look in his eyes. Ever since I had started dating Stan, I barely talked to Alex. I knew Stan bullied Alex, but what could I do? He would certainly end our relationship and just end up beating Alex up more.

"What do you want?" he asked, glancing wearily around to see if Stan was with me.

"Dad says we're going for ice cream," I told him flatly.

"Now?" he asked, matching the tone I had used when I heard this.

I stomped the floor with my boot. "Yeah, let's go." I walked away not slowing down the teensiest bit for him.

Dad was waiting for us by the entrance. "Okay, guys, let's go." I rolled my eyes as I climbed into the front seat. Instantly claiming shotgun. My eyes traced over the road whooshing by and the trees dotted by the road. I looked up as we pulled into Sweetie's Sweet Treats. Really? Dad waited for us to climb out and then locked the car.

I can't believe he brought us here! It was a kids' place! With clowns and baby music and tons of crying babies. I sulkily slumped down in a table chair as a peppy waitress in a ridiculous costume named Shirley took our orders. Alex ordered the banana boat. When she faced me, I ordered a random thing off the menu called a Cherry Dip. There was a painful, awkward silence that seemed to stretch on until Shirley finally came back with our orders and placed them in front of us.

"Need anything else?" she asked.

"No, we're good." Dad confirmed politely.

I looked down into the large bowl of ice cream. Several cherries garnished the top. Ugh. I hated cherries. Clutching one between my fingers, I let it bounce on the table.

Dad picking up my mode asked, "What's wrong Maggie? This used to be your favorite place. We used to bring you here on your birthday."

"Yeah, when I was like eight." I corrected my dad. Honestly, it was like he still thought I was a baby. I wasn't. Next year I would be off to college. I had no phone, but found a set of headphones in my pocket. Perfect trickery for Dad. I pretended to listen to music.

Alex was clearly avoiding the awkward conversation which Dad did best. Drumming his hands on the table, he turned to Alex for his next victim. "So... you're going for the team?"

Alex who was playing on his phone and was barely paying attention responded, "Huh? Oh yeah, right."

Dad still continued on. "Working on that throw?"

"You bet."

"How's it coming along?"

"Good."

"Good won't get you on the team. Remember it's not how big you are..."

Alex who had already heard this before finished, "...it's how big you play."

"That's right."

Alex grinned evilly. "Maggie got into Georgetown."

Georgetown University. Crap! I forgot Alex knew that! I gave him a hard kick under the table. I smiled when he winced. Dad turned to me and proudly said, "Mags, that's great!" I pretended to not hear him. He started to shout. "Can you... Can you please turn down the music!" I still pretended like I wasn't able to hear him. He lifted the cord from the table and gave me a hard look when he discovered it was just the headset. Not stopping, I still pretended to dance to no music. My dad raised his eyebrows.

The car ride home was as equally awkward, if not more, then the conversation in the ice cream place. As soon as we pulled into the driveway of our Mom's house, we jumped out of the car and charged into the house. Right before I shut the door I heard Dad say, "Nice... Speaking with you..." I rolled my eyes. I guess the superstition old dogs can't learn new tricks is true.

Shutting the door to my purple room, I flopped on to my messy unmade bed. I wriggled my fingers and stared at my open palms when I heard the loud ripping sound of a wood chipper. I ran to the window. My bedroom window has a direct view of the backyard. I made out my mother throwing all Dad's stuff one by one watching as it rained across the yard. Nicely played Mom. Dad emerged through the back gate and confronted Mom. I sighed; I wouldn't stick around for this. It was best to let them sort out their own problems. Instead, I went to my desk and completed my easy homework assignments quickly.

After finishing a last question on the Crimean War, I sat back on my desk chair with nothing to do. I sighed and kicked off my boots. Exiting my room, I started to walk to the kitchen when I heard a yelp of pain. I ran to the master bathroom to find my mother in a white robe with her best friend Noami standing over her with another strip of hot wax. "Mom, what are you doing?" I asked in an exasperated voice.

Naomi looked up at me with her prissy show business appeal. I nearly forgot, she was a top music agent. Probably worth a couple million bucks. In her equally prissy voice that she tried to coat with sugar she said, "Getting your mother back on the market."

I knew my father deserved this, but it still stung to realize my parents were never going to be together again. "Don't you think it's too soon for my mom to start dating again? I mean she's not even legally divorced yet, Noami."

"Naomi," Naomi corrected me.

"I don't care." I told her as I exited the room.


	2. New Kid

**_Beep!_ Beep!** Groggily my hand slapped the annoying ringing alarm clock. My eyes opened and I stared at the ceiling. Sunlight illuminated dust particles that drifted in the light. Mesmerized, I lay on my back in the quiet of my room watching as the particles of dust swirled in an endless dance. A loud slam of a cabinet door brought me back to reality.

I had to get up, or be late for school. Stan was going to drive me to school today, but if I wasn't out a minute after he laid a hand on the horn, he would take off without me. Mom told me she wouldn't give me a ride, so I would end up on the bus. I shuddered at the thought of the bus that always smelled like processed cheese and spoiled ham.

I sat up and swung my feet over the side of my bed. As I stood up, I stretched my arms and limbs like I always did when I woke up. Today would be as ordinary as the others. Shuffling to my closet, I finally managed to make a selection. A pair of dark denim jeans, grey and black stripe long sleeve shirt, black high tops, and black hoodie.

I brushed my hair and left it down; deciding it looked good that way. As a finishing touch, I did thick eyeliner around my eyes and smokey grey eyeshadow to top off the look. "Maggie! You're going to be late!" my mom said, tapping on my door.

"Coming!" I called. Dropping my mascara, I exited my bedroom door, grabbing my backpack on my way out. Mom was in the kitchen and Alex was sitting over at the counter eating french toast. My mother smiled as she handed me a heaping plate of french toast. "Thanks Mom." I sat down two seats away from Alex at the counter.

If Mom noticed our stony relationship, she didn't press us about it. Good, I liked it that way. Me and Alex having a relationship as brother and sister just wouldn't work out while I was dating Stan. Digging into my breakfast, I noticed Mom didn't take any. "Uh Mom, aren't you going to have some french toast?"

"No, I need to watch my calorie intake." she answered as she poured herself a coup of coffee. This was unusual behavior for Mom. She usually never worried about fatness. She was the skinniest of me and my friends' mothers. Maybe even the skinniest mother out of all the students' mothers at Hayden. Somehow she had managed to retain her figure. She never even gave a thought about her calorie intake before. Why was she now? Oh, Naomi. Silence was my best defense here I decided, so I just went on and finished my breakfast.

Licking my plate clean, I carried it over to the sink when Mom snatched it out of my hands. "You need to get to school. Let me handle this." I nodded. It was no use to try to argue with my determined mother. Despite the divorce, she stayed strong. That's what I like about her. Her strength and devotion, so much different then Dad. She kissed me on the forehead. "Have a good day at school, Sweetie. I love you."

"Love you too, Mom." Right on cue, Stan honked his horn. I had to get going. I waved bye to her and charged out the door. Mom kissed Alex and waved good bye to both of us. I smiled at her as I climbed into the passenger seat of Stan's car. Loud heavy metal music was playing. Already accustomed to it, I didn't cover my ears as many first riders did. In the back were a couple of Stan's buddies shouting and waving the middle finger out at the rolled down windows. Sighing, I slouched farther into my seat. Stan suddenly forcefully grabbed my face and pressed his lips into mine. I kissed him back wildly with passion when the car did a wild swerve. Jerking away I screamed, "Stan! Watch the road!" Stan remembered he was driving and put his hands back on the wheel. The car stayed more or less in the right lane.

Stan had to be more careful. He had just earned his license back. He had lost it a couple months back after drunk driving. Soon, we reached school and climbed out. Right as I was climbing out, Stan appeared and yanked me out. Pushing me against the hood of his car, he started to kiss me again. "Hey!" yelled a stern voice. It was a parking lot patrol officer. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked charging up to Stan. She was short and stout, but had a vicious powerful look in her eye.

"Nothing. Mind your own business." Stan mumbled.

"Nothing? In case you call harassment nothing." The officer stared down Stan.

"I was just kissing her." He shouted angrily.

"Well, I need to confirm if you had any weapons on you." She held up a weapon detector.

Stan shouted in outrage. "I wasn't going to hurt her!"

At that moment, a loud purr of an engine erupted through the air. My mouth fell open as an Audi R8 strode into the parking lot. Sleek looking, and very expensive too. Who at Hayden could afford this luxury car? No one I knew. I was right, it **_wasn't_ **anyone I knew. A guy, definitely a senior stepped stylishly out of the car. Style and class were the only two words that could describe him. He looked hot and god-like in a tight pair of black jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. He even managed to pull off a pair of shades and high tops. His hair was **perfec****t ** too. It was the color of cinnamon with blonde highlights; it bounced slightly when he walked. Pulling a set of car keys out of his pocket, he locked his fancy car without looking back.

He strode away with pride in his step. He must be a new kid because I would certainly know if he had been here before today. "Show-off," muttered Stan. Speechless for a moment, I looked back at the officer. I needed to clear this up before it got ugly.

"Officer, Stan was really just kissing me. He wasn't bothering me at all. Trust me, I would know if he had weapons on him." The officer looked unsure but nodded and stalked away. "You owe me," I hissed at Stan, "and you better not have any weapons."

He smiled coyly. "Scouts honor," he promised, making the dumb boyscout salute.

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Stan stop being an idiot." He smiled and slapped my butt when I turned around. I whipped around and he innocently put his hands up. I sighed for a moment.

Stan had biology first instead of history, so he walked me to class and kissed me again before pulling away as the bell rang. "See you at lunch," he shouted behind his back. I nodded and let out a sigh before walking into the class.

I was surprised to find the new boy in my class. He was staring at the board where Mr. Zuccas was writing today's assignments. Suddenly, he looked surprised as his phone went off. About to take my seat, I realized I needed college paper, so I walked to the back of the classroom. Unfocused, I grabbed a couple and tromped back to my desk. I looked over again at the new kid arguing with someone on the phone. I wondered what that was about. In mid-sentence, he cast a look at me. Unease prickled under my skin. Why was it me he looked at?

I turned around and quickly returned to me seat. Padma flitted over to me. Soon, we started talking about Friday night's plans when she looked over at the new kid's direction. I looked to see what she was staring at. The new kid was smiling and waving at me. I felt confused. I've never met him before, so why was he waving at me? I looked into his eyes and almost let out a gasp. My blue eyes were etched in his face. How was that possible? I shoved it away and quickly dropped my gaze from his. Instead I pretended to be uninterested. "Why is the new kid waving at me?"

Padma was staring too. "I don't know, but if he was an apple, he would be a Delicious." Classic Padma, comparing boys to apples. Luckily, Mr. Zuccas chose that moment to interrupt.

"Okay, class. Settle down and back to your seats." Padma gave me a wave and kept blindly staring at the new kid. I felt uncomfortable. Who was this new kid? And why was he interested in **me** so much?


	3. Cafeteria Crisis

Hunger forced my stomach to growl. Surprised, my hand flew to my stomach. I was a little shocked. Usually, I never was that hungry. School food just discouraged that more, but today I found myself longing for Chemistry to finish. Not that I hated Chemistry or Ms. Hedas; it was just I wasn't sure how long I could keep myself going without food.

My eyes stared at the clock as Ms. Hedas rambled on about chemical reactions. Each second seemed more like a minute, and each minute like an hour. That was when I realized it wasn't hunger making me edgy and impatient; it was my curiosity that hungered. I was **aching **to find out more about this mysterious, cool new kid.

There was still a good fifteen minutes before we would be dismissed for lunch. I desperately needed to get my mind off of the new kid, so I attempted a couple things. I tried to listen to Ms. Hedas's lecture, then I counted all the red things in the room, and I determined the most defining features on my classmates' faces. Finally, I gave up and continued to think about the new kid.

After what seemed like ages, Ms. Hedas finally said the thing I've been waiting for this entire period. "Okay class, we will continue our discussion prior tomorrow. You are dismissed." Excitement then apprehension coursed through me. Did I really want to know about that guy? Pushing away my silly thoughts, I plundered on to the cafeteria. Hopefully, I would get a chance to check the guy out and talk to him.

Excitedly, I shoved into the lunch line with everyone else. Today's meal was a hamburger, fresh fruit, and mashed potatoes. Oh well, no french fires. Not that I would eat them anyway. Lunch could not be wasted on eating. After I went through the lunch line, I plopped down at the exclusive popular table. Only people on the basketball team, their friends, their girlfriends, and their girlfriend's friends could sit here. My permission to sit here was granted by Stan.

Soon, my friends joined me, and started a conversation about the new kid. Padma said dreamily, "His name is Mark, Mark Gold." Gold? The only Gold I knew was my dad's best friend, Ned Gold, and as far I as I knew, he didn't have any kids.

Cheyenne added, "He really is a looker, for sure." She puckered her lips.

Taylor nodded in agreement. "Look here he comes!" Taylor shouted.

Puzzlement crossed Cheyenne's face. "Is he with your brother?"

I whipped around. Mark was walking with a tray in his hands. Talking to him was Alex! I felt like gagging. Why was he friends with Alex? Together, they plopped down at a table. I couldn't help but stare at them as they continued to talk. Padma glanced at the lunch line. "Here comes Stan." Padma was right. Stan entered with the basketball team behind him. He also had a basketball under his arm. Stan smirked as he snatched a sandwich off of nerd outcast, Ryan Gunter's tray. Stan crammed the whole thing into his mouth as he made his way to our lunch table.

"Miss me, Mags?" he asked, swallowing the rest of the sandwich. He pulled me against him and he gave me a wild, forceful kiss. I kissed him back when he stopped.

"Come on, Stan. Kiss me." I breathed against his neck.

"Got to go do something." he grumbled, pulling away. I watched as he made his way over to the table where Mark and Alex were sitting with a basketball still under his arm. This was not good. I watched and listened. My friends did too.

Stan walked up to Alex. "Hey Twinkle Doosh, if I wanted you in the cafeteria, I would've taped you to a lunch lady." I watched silently as Stan roughly bounced the basketball on Alex's head.

Mark furiously looked at him, and angrily got up. "You little punk. You **don't **talk to him that way." Stan turned his attention to Mark.

Stan seemed to find this funny. Slamming his basketball on the table, he looked Mark in the eyes. "What are you going to do?" Infuriating Stan was like teasing a bull. Didn't Mark know how too far he had gone?

Obviously not, because he challenged, "What am I going to do?" The cafeteria went silent. No one ever talked like this to Stan. All wanted to see if Stan was going to beat the crap out of this new guy. Mark faced the whole cafeteria. "First, I'm going to call your father." Everyone including Stan started to laugh.

Stan faced the laughing crowds and faced Mark. Suddenly, he threw the basketball with a forceful shove. One that could seriously injure someone. I covered my eyes as everyone let out a gasp, but I didn't hear the sickening impact the ball would have on Mark's ribs. Curious to see what happened, my eyes popped back open. Mark actually caught the ball with one hand and now was passing it back and forth between his hands.

Stan stared disbelievingly before regaining his male ego. "Give me my ball back, Bitch."

Mark did not do this, but instead continued with egging Stan on. What was he trying to accomplish? "You know Stan, I feel sorry for you."

"You don't me," Stan interjected.

"Oh, but I do," Mark threw the ball in the air and spun it on his index finger. "All too well." Continuing to spin the ball, he walked around Stan in a circle and continued to speak. "You're the man. Captain of the basketball team. Dates the pretty girls." Suddenly, he stopped pacing and held the ball in his open palm while speculating. "High school is your kingdom." He paused a moment and faced everyone. "But people, Stan's a bully. Why?" He let the question linger in the air for a moment. "It'd be way to easy to say Stan preys into weak simply because he's a dick." More laughter erupted in the cafeteria.

I didn't laugh. There was no trace of a smile on my face. Mark had gone too far. Mark still spoke. "No, no, Stan here is much more complex then that. See, according to leading psychiatrists, Stan is a bully for one of three reasons." Mark held up three fingers and then bounced the ball onto his index finger. He smiled. "One." He fancily bounced the ball from different parts of his body while saying, "Underneath all that male bravado there is an insecure little girl just banging on the closet door to get out." Another wave of laughter passed through the cafeteria.

He launched the ball in the air and threw it around his back just to catch it. "Two." He spun the ball smoothly in his fingers. "Like a caveman, Stan's brain is highly...underdeveloped." Like grenades, giggles went off around the cafeteria. He passed the ball completely in control to the back and forward of his hand and said, "Therefore, Stan is unable to use self control, so he acts out aggressively."

Mark lowered the ball. Number three was obviously going to be the worst. "And the third reason." Once again, he spun the ball on his pinky and watched it. He smiled wickedly. "Stan has a small wiener." The cafeteria went up in uproar. Stan's amused smile turned into a frown. Mark took the ball and dribbled skillfully between his legs. He dribbled it up to Stan and launched a playful punch. The cafeteria gasped again. He caught the ball in his palms. Looking Stan straight in the eye, he smiled again. "Don't hurt yourself big boy."

With that, he tossed the ball lightly back to Stan and walked away. He made his point. Stan would be upset, but I couldn't help but feel a little awed by this kid's guts and his basketball skills were amazing. It wouldn't be long until Mark Gold would be the talk of the school. he was already on his way.


	4. We've Got Trouble

**Hey guys! Thanks for sticking with the story! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Warning: it does have some language, but not much. The review button won't bite, so please review! I like to know what others think about my work! Please, no venom though. **

My eyes were heavy as I stared down at my biology assignment. Today had been too long, longer than days usually felt. All I wanted now was to curl up into a ball and sleep for a week. I sighed, if only humans could hibernate. How great would that be? Painfully, I faced reality and plunged on with the homework- not that it was hard or anything. Every couple seconds my phone would go off.

Once, I had fallen asleep in class. The night before I stayed up until three in the morning watching Saw 3. The next day at school I was lying with my face squashed against the desk and I was snoring loudly. Someone- probably Taylor- texted me. I made the mistake of turning the ringer all the way up and forgot to turn it on vibrate. Unfortunately, it was right next to my left ear. So when Taylor called me, I woke up screaming bloody murder and banged my head on the desk, causing it to split open. Resulting for me to leave school a bloody mess to the emergency room with my mother who was bad under the influence of pain. After that episode, I never turn up the ringer past low.

Soon, I couldn't take the constant ringing, so I switched the power off my phone and stuffed it under my pillow for good measure. Soft rock music was playing in the background as I sleepily answered all my questions and wrote a three paragraph summary. For a moment it seemed like I was really going to have some peace and quiet where I could finally sort out my jumbled thoughts. "Dinner," yelled my Mom's voice. I gave a silent groan. I wasn't in the mood for dinner. Besides, I wasn't hungry.

Knowing I had no choice I stumbled into the brightly lit kitchen. Wrinkling my nose, I gagged. I stumbled over to the stove where the scent was coming from. Something that smelled along the lines of decomposed road kill and sweaty gym socks was sitting in a pan. To make things worse, it was green and yellow and bubbling. "What is this?"

Mom, who was pouring drinks answered, "Oh, it's a health casserole. Naomi gave me her signature recipe."

Naomi, figures. "Hey Mom, I think you forgot to add the eye of newt." I was being dead serious when I said that.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Mom replied, rolling her eyes.

I wrinkled in disgust. "At least when Dad made dinner it didn't violate at least ten health codes." After I finished the sentence, I wished I could take back what I said. Alex looked at me like I had grown a second head.

Hurt registered across Mom's face for a moment before she pushed it away with a mask of anger. "Hell Maggie, just eat your dinner."

I stood there shocked before a moment before I landed in my chair. Dad's was gone. We all sat there in silence with only the chink of silverware against the china. Alex must have wanted to ease the tension. "I practiced basketball today for tryouts for the team next week." I rolled my eyes.

"That's good, Alex." Mom agreed.

Alex brightened at his victory of finally getting a word out of one of us. "Yeah, You're in luck Mom, Mark didn't get creeped out by you. He thinks you're nice."

"Mark? Mark Gold?" I quipped. "He was here?"

Mom forgot our dispute for a moment and said, "Yes he was. He's Ned's bastard." I gave her a cynical look. She quickly recovered, "His son out of a one time thing. I talked to Ned about it this afternoon. The mother apparently just handed Mark over to Ned out of the blue."

"Why was here?" I rephrased my question.

Alex looked at me strangely for a moment. "What else? To practice basketball. He's amazing I have to say, but of course you would know. You saw him in the cafeteria." He smiled in challenge. Now he had an ally.

"Whatever," I mumbled, "I'm going to bed." Tossing my napkin on the table, I hurried to my room, and quickly shut the door behind me. Alone at last, I collapsed onto the bed fully dressed. My eyes instantly closed to a black, peaceful unselfconscious.

* * *

My eyes traced the board unconsciously. I wasn't sure what I was looking for. There was hot breath on my cheek paired with a strong of words, "Miss me baby?" Stan pushed my pencils of my desk and jumped up on to the desk. Remaining seated, I wrapped my arms around his neck and passionately kissed him. It was like flames seared between our lips. Stan was the best kisser. All I wanted to do was to kiss him like this forever.

Suddenly there was another person in this moment. "Hey guys!" I heard the voice of Mark. We quickly pulled apart. Stan glared unforgivably at Mark as Mark took the empty seat behind Stan and plopped his binder loudly on the desk. Bad choice Mark.

Ms. Monroe, the health teacher, took control of the class. "Okay settle down everybody, take your seats, thank you, thank you, thank you Stan, thank you." Stan smirked and plopped into his seat in the front of the room, making sure to sprawl his muscular legs out as wide as he could and got comfortable.

I carelessly faced away from him, but I could feel his stare boring into the side of my face. When everyone was more or less silent, Ms. Monroe continued. "Okay today we will be continuing our discussion on human sexuality," Ms. Monroe said, "and as we discussed, the official school policy is **abstinence**!"

No one usually said anything, so I was surprised to hear someone say, "Now that is very sensible. I'm glad that someone here has their head screwed on straight. I think all of us should make a pact to abstain from sex. Now who's with me you guys? Come on." From his voice, I can tell the speaker is Mark. He seemed about the least likely person to say that considering his looks. Everyone laughed hysterically. No one did abstinence anymore. Hell, there were people who did it when they turned thirteen. Gross, but it still happened somewhere in the world. He looks oddly worried. "Maggie?" he asks.

"Hm?" I face him. His shocking electric blue eyes were gazing into mine. Uneasily, I turn back around.

Ms. Monroe quickly puts a handle on the discussion. "However, let's get real. I know asking high school seniors to be abstinent is like asking a porcupine to poop goat cheese." She shakes her head once. "Yeah. So, since the majority of you are or will become sexually active at some point..."

Mark suddenly cuts in. "That point should be way, way in the future, right?"

Ms. Monroe looks wistful for a moment. "Well, the official school position is that we prepare you for safe sex **now**." Me and Stan exchange a glance. "So please take one, and pass it back." She hands me a bin full of condoms. I quickly take one and hold it in my hand. I glance back quickly to see Mark put his face in his hands. Why does this bother him so much? When I have my one, Stan eagerly snatches the basket from me and throws half the number of condoms on his desk.

He looks at me and answers, "I have needs." He's about to give it to Mark when he stops. Giving a laugh he says, "You don't need these." He passes it to the person behind Mark. Mark looks down at the desk and says nothing for a moment. People laugh and gasp.

Ms. Monroe orders, "Stan, give one to Mark."

I gaze into his eyes and features carefully. There is something about him. It just seems like we're related. The feeling is so weird. Mark looks up confidentially. "No, you know what? He's right. I don't need one. Why? Want to know why I don't need one? Because there's no one I'm in love with. It's called making love, isn't it? Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I think that means you do it with someone you love." He slouches back in his seat and suddenly stands up. Clearly not done making his point. "And preferably when you're married. You know when you're ready to take that love and turn it into a baby. Because that's what love is." Stan pretends to barf over his desk, but I ignore him and listen to Mark. "It's that first moment when you hold your baby girl." His voice becomes emotional. "An you didn't know anything could be that small and so delicate, and you feel that tiny heartbeat and you know that you couldn't love anything more in the whole world. And you hope you can do right for that little girl. An always be there to catch her when she falls and that nothing ever hurts her. Not a broken arm, or a bad dream, or a broken heart."

I stare into his eyes which are locked on me. I sit there looking at him, frozen into place. Somehow I feel like this about **me. **It's not even Mark anymore; it's replaced with my dad. The silence is broken by Padma who says, "I don't need one of these. Just take it!" She throws her condom back in the bin and passes it forward. Nearly everyone, except some of the boys, including Stan, follow suit. Soon, it's back to Stan.

Stan scoops out another large handful and piles them onto his mountain of protection. "Great, fine, wonderful, more for me." He leans in and suddenly kisses me and remarks loudly, "Now I have enough for the whole weekend."

That was when Mark launched himself at Stan. I jolt up to see them fighting as a heap on the floor in a sea of condoms. Everyone whips out their phones to catch the fight on film. Everyone crowds in to get the best shots of the fight. "Stan!" I yell above the jeers of the crowd.

Ms. Monroe looks down at them. Stan rolls on top of Mark. Just as shocked as me and orders, "Boys! Stop it! Break it up! Stan get off of him!" It comes out more of a panicked attempts to throw a punch at Stan's nose, but Stan's much stronger and twists his arm. "Put your phones away!"

That's when Stan throws a hard punch at Mark's jaw. It makes a horrible sound. Unsure of what to say, I scream, "Stan! Stop hitting him!"

Stan instead sends another blow to Mark's face. Everyone is cheering. "You like that?" he asks tauntingly.

I shout another useless comment. "You're going to go to jail again!" I tried to reason with him. They continued to fight. Stan of course won, but Mark did as much as he could. Finally, the same cop who confronted Stan yesterday in the parking lot said he was going to spend valuable time with her taser in his side. That's when Stan finally stopped. Both were sent to the school nurse and to the principal's office. The video was all over youtube and school within ten minutes. I still couldn't help but worry about Mark. I was almost tempted to check on him. I couldn't help but feel a connection with him. How weird is that?


	5. Judgemental

As I slam my locker door close, I see a familiar face smiling at me. It's Mark. He's been bothering me all week. "Hey, Mags. Do you remember me? I'm Mark, your Uncle Ned's kid."

I give a silent groan. "Right, how could I forget the kid who attacked my boyfriend and sprayed me with a hose?"

He looks a little embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I have lousy aim."

I narrow my eyes in suspicion. "Well a lousy aim that ruined a **not **lousy kiss with Stan." I retort grumpily. I swear, Mark is trying his hardest to keep me and Stan away from each other. It's something Dad would do. Well, luckily Dad's not in the country right now. This kid always gives me the strangest feeling.

His cheeks blaze crimson. "I was just keeping that kiss from turning into something more."

A ripple of anger washes through me, and my face turns tomato red. The shade that made an appearance whenever I got angry. "Well maybe I wanted to go there!"

His face becomes an even brighter shade of red. "Don't say that Mags!"

Stan suddenly looms over me. "Do we have a problem here?" He glares at Mark. "Now I see it." Stan shoves Mark. "Stay away from my girl or that pretty face of yours is going to be rearranged." He pulls me away with him. Mark is still glaring at us. Honestly, what's this kid's problem?

* * *

I curse as I do my make-up in dim light. Adrenaline and excitement shoot through me as I coat a layer of eyeshadow on my lids. Making them a dark, smokey violet. After I swath a line of black eyeliner around my eyes, I finish it off by coating mascara on my eyelashes, and applying clear, shimmery lip gloss to my full lips. I spend about ten minutes brushing and rearranging my hair until I decide to just let it fall in dark waves.

Standing in the full body mirror hanging on the bathroom door, I look at my outfit from all different angles. An old frayed pair of dark jeans, a dark blue tight-fitting tank top that shows off cleavage, and a plaid hoddie. Paired with a large bejeweled diamond heart necklace that lays against my chest. A gift from Stan. After I attempt to convince myself I look great, I walk out of the bathroom to wait at the front door for Stan to pick me up. Tonight we were going to a party one of Stan's jock friends was hosting.

As I brush to the front door, I see Mark with Mom. I nearly forgot, Mom had her date tonight. Whatever. I didn't care anymore. Mom gives an envelope to Mark and says a couple things to him before she takes her date's hand and walks to his car. Mark smiles, still holding the bouquet. However, beneath his smile I see something else. Pain? Longing? Confused I pushed this away. A loud honk of a horn and heavy metal music clears my thoughts quickly. I run past Mark still standing in the open doorway to Stan's car. "Where are you going?" he asks.

"Chris's party!" I call over my shoulder. I don't hear what else Mark says because I climb into the car and slam the door with heavy metal pounding in my ears.

When we reach the bowling ally, me and Stan don't go in for a few minutes because we are too busy making out in the car. Finally we pull away and go inside. Fortunately, this is a public party so there are no drinks. That is fine by me. The last thing I need is a drunk Stan. I stink at bowling, so most of the time I dance to the music and make out with Stan. Pretty soon Stan gets bored and decided to pick on some nerds who decided to crash the party. Big mistake for them. After a while, the music seems relentless and the talking, laughing people become too much, so I slip into the quiet privacy of the rec. room upstairs. No one is up here except for a couple completely making out. Relieved of the buzzing in my head, I sit and watch the action below in peace.

My peace is short lived because Mark walks into the room. Praying silently to myself he wouldn't notice me, my luck is wasted. His eyes find me and he walks over to me. Taking a seat next to me he looks at me and nods while smiling. God, why did he have to be so irritating? Impatience finally gets the best of me after sitting here for a few moments. "What do you want?" I ask, irritated.

He slaps the counter behind us and looks back at me. "I just want to talk about Stan."

"Yeah?" I ask, uncertain of where he was going with this.

He holds his hands up. I do the same, however it's in a mocking way. He leans forward and nearly shouts in my face, "Why are you dating him? You know he's not a nice guy. He's crazy." He finishes with a cuckoo motion around his head.

Anger flares inside me. What does he know? "Hey, don't say that about Stan. You don't even know him." I struggle to keep my voice steady.

"But I do. I really do. I know him better then you." My eyebrows shoot up in shock then anger. How does he know about Stan more then me? I'm Stan's girlfriend for crying out loud!

The struggle to keep my temper continues. "Look, me and Stan are moving in together after graduation."

Shock crosses Mark's face. "Stan got into Georgetown?"

Shocked, I look back at him. "What?" I ask. How could he possibly know about Georgetown? I quickly tell myself that Alex told him; after all, they hang out all the time and both are on the basketball team.

Panic flares in Mark's blue eyes. "What?"

I shake my head as if to clear it. "No, no, Stan got on the management track at Home Depot." I say proudly.

Mark rolls his eyes. "Oh, great." he answers sarcastically.

Ignoring him I say, "And I'm going to Westford Community College to be closer to him." Mark shoots a glance at me. Pretending not to notice, I hold the heart necklace close to my lips. "He's my forever."

He nods like he's analyzing my reasons and turns back to me. "There's no way in hell that's happening."

Did he just tell me no? To confirm I ask, "Excuse me?"

"I said there's no way in hell that's happening," he repeats. I laugh like he just said a joke. However, his face is completely serious. "You think I'm going to let you mortgage your future?" He starts to yell now, sounding exactly like my dad. "You think I'm going to let you throw away all your hard work? Everything you accomplished for some guy? Some psychopathic guy who doesn't care about you? I forbid you. I forbid you to see him anymore."

My face becomes redder then a tomato. This is the reddest my face has ever gotten, but it has a good reason to be this shade. Mark Gold could not tell me what to do. In what world did he live in where he could forbid me from seeing people? He wasn't my dad. So why did he think he had this authority over me? He was just some crazy seventeen year old boy. I begin to yell too. "Oh, okay, who the hell do you think you are? My father? Dude!" I have to get away from him. I jump up and grab my bag and walk to the door.

"Don't walk away from me! Don't walk away from me!" Mark shouts.

"Dude, you're a freak!" I yell back to him.

Right as I exit the door I hear him shout, "Don't you walk away from me! Margaret Sarah O'Donell!" I run away quickly and shove past Alex with his pant leg smoking. I don't bother to ask. All I wanted to do was to find Stan and to have him take me home. I was sick of this party. Finally, I find him throwing a boy, Matthew Roberts headfirst down a bowling lane. I tug on his shirt.

"Stan, I want to go home. Take me home." I tell him.

"Oh come on Maggie, don't you like the party?" he asks giving me a kiss on the lips. I smell alcohol in his breath. Someone must have brought the drinks.

Pulling away I sigh, "Fine, I'll get my own ride." Without waiting another moment, I quickly walk out the door into the jam-packed parking lot. I sat down at a bench in the front of the building and gaze up at the stars. Suddenly, I find myself crying. I am instantly confused by this. Finally, I realize why I'm crying. I miss Dad. All this time I pushed away all feelings for him and remained hard and numb to him. It was easier then dealing with the emotions. I didn't hate my Dad, I just wanted to feel like he was there with me. Mark had stirred up these emotions and made me realize what I really wanted, my dad.

After sitting on the bench for a long time, I finally call Mom and ask her to pick me up. She arrives in fifteen minutes. I dry any left over tears and climb into the front seat. The heater is warm against my skin. "Are you all right?" she asks me.

I couldn't cry again, so I reply, "I just miss Dad."

She nods and drives the car home. Maybe it was just me, but I swear I hear her mumble, "You and me both."

**Hey! Thanks for reviewing! After I read your views, I got to work right away. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Find out what's in store for Maggie in the next chapter. Thank you!**


	6. Take My Heart

"Okay, talk to you later." I say as I end the call. Taylor had called me with questions about our book report. After being on the phone for an hour and convincing Taylor the Grapes of Wrath was not about angry grapes, I finally hung up the phone and could do what I really wanted to do, digging for answers. I pulled up the school site and decided to start my search there. For some reason, I didn't think Mark Gold was who he said he was.

Pulling up the seniors' page, I scrolled through the names until I came upon "Gold, Mark". I clicked his name and came to a page. To my disappointment, all it listed was his transfer date and his old high school. Wait a minute, maybe his old school had more info. So in the Google box I typed in "Cutler High". The search immediately brought me to the school's website. Perfect. Searching through the seniors, I could not find a "Mark Gold" on there anywhere. There wasn't even a Mark in the grade. Frustrated, I fell back on my bed. Did they already remove information about him?

I sighed. There was one more thing I could try. In the Google box I typed in "Mark Gold". To my disappointment it came up with negative results. There were about forty-seven Mark Golds listed in the state of California, but none of them matched Mark. Suddenly my phone went off next to me on the bed, the screen read "Mark Calling". Closing my laptop, I really didn't want to answer the phone, but I knew he wouldn't stop until I talked to him. I had been avoiding him since the night of the party, so it's been about five days. Groaning, I answer, "Oh my god Mark, what do you want?"

He sounds really happy that I answered, but a little surprised. Probably not expecting me to pick up. He's left me over thirty voice mails. "Oh, hi Maggie. Thanks for picking up."

Rolling me eyes I respond, "Oh, yeah, whatever, now tell me what you want."

Mark seems a little shocked about my forwardness because it's quiet on the other end for a few moments before he awkwardly clears his throat. "Look, Maggie, about what I said at the party..."

"Don't apologize Mark! I'm still really angry at you! Apologizing won't help, so bye." I hang up the phone and toss it on my bed. Can't he understand I'm still mad at him?

Alex interrupts my thoughts because he chooses that moment to stick his head in the door. "Maggie, Mom says it's time to go." I jump up and pull on my jacket. Oh right, the basketball game was tonight. I follow Alex to the car. I make a beeline for shotgun, but Alex beats me to it. "Sorry Maggie, looks like this ride will be in the back." Casting a dirty look at him, I climb in the back while he plops into the passenger seat. If Alex wasn't on the basketball team, I totally would have fought him for the front, but dressed in his basketball uniform, I notice Alex has serious muscle. I never noticed how trim Alex was. He always acted awkward before Mark came.

Mom starts up the car and we are off to Hayden for the big game. Alex talks to Mom about how nervous he is for his first game while Mom reassures him he'll do great. Both me and Alex are being dropped off early so Mom can go home and get ready for her second date with Nathaniel. I guess you could call Nathaniel picking Mom up and going to Alex's basketball game a "date". Why not? I mean after all, they're dating when Mom's not even officially divorced yet.

Mom drops us off bu the front entrance, and then drives off. Alex jogs to the boys' locker room for whatever stuff they did before the game while I made my way to the gym. Several people are already here and are taking their places on the bleachers. I find a spot near the gym doors so I can get out as soon as the game was over.

Mom and Nathaniel soon arrive. They choose a place not so crowded near the top. I roll my eyes at their awkward conversation. It's kind of pathetic really. They haven't kissed yet and there's no real chemistry between them. Everyone can see that. The team soon files out onto the court and Stan runs up to me. With no words, we interlock and share a fiery, passionate kiss. "Stan!" Stan pulls away and runs out onto the court. The team takes their positions.

For the first half, both teams score about equally. However, Presley High still comes out with a couple points more. In order for Hayden to win, they will have to score three points without any mistakes, or it's all over. While one of the opponents is dribbling the ball, Mark swoops in like a hawk and steals it. Mark seems to be flying as he gracefully moves across the court dribbling the ball. With a a flawless toss, he scores for the team. Cheers erupt from the bleachers. From above, I hear Mom and Nathaniel cheering on Alex as he knocks the ball out of the other teams' hands and tosses it to Mark. As before, Mark tosses it into the net. Another point is marked for Hayden.

Hayden could actually win. All we need is another point and it will be victory. Mark starts out with the ball. However, the other team is starting to close in. Mark has to pass the ball to another team member. Alex and Stan are both open. Mark passes the ball to Alex. The other team now goes in for Alex.

"O'Donell, give it to Gold!" Coach Murphy shouts above the crowd. However, Alex tosses the ball. Alex you idiot! To my astonishment, the ball lands perfectly in the net! Hayden won! I stand up and clap. Man, I never knew Alex was so good at basketball. He was amazing!

Everyone streams on the court. I watch as the head cheerleader, Nicole, runs up to Alex. I nearly laugh at their awkward hug. Jumping down from the bleachers, I run to Stan. Mark is standing in front of me. "Maggie, I need to talk to you."

Ignoring him, I push past him. Not bothering to look back, I yell. "Not now Mark!" Finally I find Stan and grab him. We kiss like crazy. Stan and I kiss for a couple minutes before he pulls me with him. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere." he answers. He stops when we reach the quad. He pushes me against the wall and starts to kiss me roughly. I kiss him back. However he begins to become rougher and fiercer. His kisses becoming more than just kisses.

I push him away. "What the hell Stan? Are you trying to have sex with me?"

Stan looks at me. "Well, what do you think I was trying to do? Win the lottery?"

My mouth falls open surprised and angry. "You can't be serious! I thought we were going to wait!"

Stan looks furious and disbelieving. "We agreed to do it!" Suddenly he whispers in my ear. "Anyway, we love each other, right? So let's do it." He kisses me up my neck roughly again.

I push him away, harder this time. "No Stan, I do not want to do it! I will not do it with you! Not today!"

His eyes are hard steal. "Why? Is that because of that stupid asshole Mark?"

I shake my head angrily. "No, Stan, it's not about him. It's just I want my first time to be special."

He looks beyond the point of angry. "So what? My first time wasn't special or anything. It was just sex. No big deal. So do it with me now!" He pushes me against the wall again and kisses me angrily and roughly.

Shoving him away, I scream, "No! I'm telling you this. I'm not going to do it with you now!"

He turns away. If he could breathe fire, Hayden would be burned to ash. "Fine, if you're going to be this way and not give me what I want, I'm not going to be with you. Maggie O'donell, you are no longer my girlfriend." He stalks away angrily and kicks the wall. For a few minutes, I stare at my hands. I replayed the scene with Stan over and over again in my head, but my brain couldn't process that Stan just dumped me. Stan dumped me. No, it couldn't be true. These words seemed foreign and strange to me. This couldn't have just happened. It couldn't be real. It all felt like a movie. Like I was watching other characters through my TV.

I had to leave now. The school would look up for the night. Leaving the quad, Mark comes up to me. "Maggie..." he starts. I don't listen or acknowledge him. Instead, I walk like an unfeeling robot I walk out the gym door into the drizzly night. Leaving behind the gym, and who I thought I was.


	7. Mending Wounds

Staring into my bowl of soggy frosted flakes, a tear rolls down my cheek. I wiped it away with my black sweater sleeve. My life was just a soggy and flavorless as these flakes. Mom lays a hand on my cheek. "Oh, Maggie, I know how much it hurts." Mom was the only one who understood what I was going through. Last night, Stan, dumped me. I held back tears until I got home. That's when I broke down in the living room. Mom listened to my story and said she was there for me. Even Alex gave me an awkward pat on the back and mumbled he was sorry, but he was still hyped with happiness for winning Thursday night's game.

Today was Friday, but I didn't feel any happiness or excitement for the weekend that stretched before me. I didn't want to go to school. I really didn't. Did it matter if I missed just one day? It was Friday anyway. "Mom, could I please stay home today? I don't think I can handle school." I mumbled in a cracked voice.

Mom shook he head sadly. "I'm sorry, but if you're not sick or have broken bones, I can't let you miss school."

"I have a broken heart. Does that count?" I ask miserably.

Once again, Mom shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. You'll just have to be strong and stick up another day of school before the weekend."

"I thought you supported me!" I wailed pathetically.

Mom seeing she had upset me. Quickly coaxed me. "Of course I do, but by law you need to attend school, and it's my responsibility as a parent to make sure you do. Even though in my heart I know how difficult it is, but honey, you need to pick yourself back up."

Stupid law. Wearily, I climb on the bus and sit alone. The whole ride I sit silently and stare out the window. When the bus reaches school, I slide off the bus dragging my heavy feet to find my friends waiting for me.

Taylor holds her arms open and pulls me in a death squeeze. "Oh, Maggie! We heard about you and Stan!"

Padma shakes her head. "I always knew that boy was an ass."

For the whole day, I trudged miserably to every class and had to hear sugary, sympathetic apologies from all sorts of people. All pretending to be sorry for me. Luckily, Mark wasn't one of those people. I didn't see Mark all day. He was surrounded by all sorts of girls and boys along with Alex. At lunch, I found myself sitting at a uncool table with my friends. Fortunately, they don't bring up Stan. I'm not sure how much more my heart can take.

After what seemed like the longest and hardest day of my life, I couldn't face anymore people. Suddenly, I saw Stan making out with another girl next to his car. My knees felt weak and tears were popping up in my eyes. Turning on my heel, I ran for the old stairs. No one ever came over here.  
I sat down on the middle step because that was how far I could go.

Putting my face in my hands, I cried and cried. Salty tears washed down my pale face. I had given Stan my heart and he threw it away. He took everything I had and left me broken. Beyond repair. He didn't care about me. What if I had done it with him? Would things be different? A fresh stream of tears dripped from my face and miserable sobs echoed from my chest. If only I had made him happy... "Maggie? Hey Maggie." Mark sits down next to me.

Another round of sobs escape from my chest. I can barely force out a couple words to him. "Go away."

Not listening to my feeble attempt to send him away, he sits down next to me. "Hey what happened?" he asks gently.

Why did he have to do this? It was like he enjoyed having me being dragged over a bed of razors. "What do you want?" I sniffle.

He hears the hostility in my voice and he says, "No I..."

I don't bother to let him finish. I already knew what he was going to say. "Rub it in my face. Say to me I told you so!"

He shakes his head. "No, I really don't. I just... tell me what happened."

There was no hint of a lie in his voice. So he was telling the truth? He really didn't know what happened. Holding the sobs back a moment, I answer, "Stan dumped me. Over-" I can't finish because my words are broken off by another wave of tears.

"Stan dumped you?" he asks unbelievably. It takes a moment for it to really strike him. "Stan dumped you? What? What happened? Whoa, whoa, whoa, how did this- what he do?" A horrified look crosses his face. "What did he do?"

I sit there for a second trying to find the right words to tell him. I take a deep breath. "After the game, we- he took me behind the quad and we..."

Mark covers his ears. "I can't hear this." he mumbles. He takes his hands away and faces me. "You didn't. No Mags..."

I shake my head sadly. "No." My voice cracks. "No, That's why he dumped he me." Another hollow cry rips from my chest as more tears roll down my face. I cover my face with my hands and sob into them.

Mark wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer to him. He's warm and I feel protected with him here. "Hey, hey, it's okay." He sighs. "You know, when you're young, everything feels like the end of the world. It's not . It's just the beginning. You might have to meet a few more jerks, but one day you're going to meet a boy who treats you the way you deserve to be treated. Like the sun rises and sets with you." I sit there in his arms and look into his blue eyes. Maybe I hadn't lost my heart. I was in love, but not with the jerk who dumped me for not having fun with him, Stan. I was in love with the boy who made me feel special like the world revolved around me. I was in love with Mark Gold.

I stare into his eyes. "You really think so?" I sniffle.

He looks back at me with love in his eyes and answers honestly with his heart, "I know so."

He comfortingly rubs my shoulder. I smile through my watery mask. "So sweet." I lean into his muscular chest and press my face into his neck. "The sweetest." I whisper.

He continues to rub my shoulder and hug me. Mark mumbles, "It's okay." I start to push him against the step. "Wow, oh." He lets out a nervous laugh and pulls away. "Anyways, I uh... I just wanted to invite you to my party. I didn't know if you wanted to come tonight."

I jump up off the step and smile at him. "I'd love too!" I exclaim.

He smiles. "Great. That's exciting!"

A wide smile crosses my face and I swoop in for a hug. Mark grabs my hands and twists around with me. "Yay!" we both say at the same time.

"Thank you, thank you!" I gush, trying to lean in for a kiss.

He swings my arms around and laughs. "That's very exciting! I know! It's great!" He slings his backpack over his shoulder and points at me while smiling. "See you tonight." Mark quickly walks away.

I stand there and smile. I wanted Mark to be mine. Hopefully I would get to make my move tonight. Who knows? Maybe Mark is the guy for me. As I walk home, I realize my heart is in the right place.


	8. A Night That Changes Everything

As I walk in the door, I through my bag down. Mom looks surprised and relieved to see me. "Oh, good you're home. You've been gone for an hour. When Alex came home, I saw you weren't with him. I was worried about you. Good thing you stopped me before I left." Her rushed words come to a stop and she gives herself a slap. "How was school?" she asks with a worried look in her eyes.

A wide smile cracks on my face. "It was great!" I shout joyfully.

"Oh I'm sorry- wait, did you just say it was great?" Mom looks puzzled now.

I walk to the kitchen and Mom follows. Grabbing an apple from the fridge, I bite into it. When I swallow the juicy bite, I answer, "Yeah, it was. Don't worry about me. I'm over Stan now. Let's just say I found someone else better then him."

Mom runs a hand through her bronze hair. "Who?"

Smiling, I respond, "Well, we're not officially a couple, but after tonight, that may change."

Mom nods slowly and looks me up and down a moment. "Okay, what exactly are you going to do tonight?"

I plop on a stool. "Mark invited me to his party at his house!"

She looks worried for a moment. "Will Ned be there?"

Of course she was going to worry about adult supervision. "Well, no."

She sighs. "You know I don't like you going to parties without any parents or adults present. There could be drugs and alcohol."

"Mom, I'm not that stupid." I reply, rolling my eyes.

She looks at war with herself for a moment while she considered it. "Fine, you can go, but only because it's Friday."

"Oh my gosh! Thank you Mom!" I run into her arms and give her a hug while bouncing her up and down.

She laughs slightly. "You're welcome."

I let go. "Oh, I have to get ready! I need to find something to wear!"

By eight o' clock I was dressed and waiting for my friends to pick me up for the party. It took me an hour to finally settle on a outfit selection of a flashy sparkly black top, my skinniest pair of black jeans, and a black leather jacket. My hair was pulled back with a decorative headband. Finally, I saw the flash of headlights swoop by our living room window. Finally. I dash out the door and scoot in with Taylor in the back seat.

Soon we reach the familiar mansion of Uncle Ned. Gosh, the party looked out of control. Their were tons of people in the driveway. Some were hanging off the basketball net on the garage. Jumping out of the car, a soft cool breeze ruffles my hair. I shiver slightly, but feel hyped. Tonight I would tell Mark how I felt about him.

I follow my friends in, but decide to stick to the porch. I search for Mark in the sea of people. No luck. Sighing, I lean against the porch beam when someone stumbles up to me. "Mark?" I ask hopefully.

To my disappointment it's Stan. "What do you want?" I growl.

He leans into my face. "Look, I didn't mean those words I said in the quad. I was upset. I want you back." Stan says as he leans in for a kiss.

Angrily, I shove him away. What if Mark saw this? "No, I found someone else!"

Stan looks like he is going to rip my head off as he walks up to me drunkenly. He's had way to much to drink no doubt. "Party's over Stan." My heart soars when Mark says that.

Stan turns around and pathetically stumbles to Mark, tripping a couple times. Looking Mark in the eye, he asks, "Who's going to make me leave? You?"

Punch his face Mark! I want to say, but it certainly wouldn't help Mark, so I watch with a smile on my face. Mark whips out his i phone and holds it out to Stan. "You know I would, but it sounds like you've had too much to drink, so I'm just going to let the cops handle this."

Stan, has nothing more to way starts to stalk away, but suddenly he stops and pats Mark on the cheek. Resentfully glaring at me he says, "You can have the nun. She's been put out anyway."

Anger flashes in Mark's eyes. "On second thought!" Mark whips around and aims a punch at Stan. Although drunk, Stan is still faster and stronger. He jerks away and sends a flying uppercut. It hits Mark in the chin. Mark's eyes close and he falls to the ground with a loud thud.

"Mark!" I scream. Rushing to him, I find his pulse. He's unconscious, but is still breathing. People around me gasp and whisper. Ignoring them, I drag Mark to a little bedroom in the back of the house with the pool just outside. I lay him on the bed and stroke his face. He looks so perfect just lying there. Temptation gets the best of me and I stroke his face. Soon, I move down to stroking his chest. Reaching inside his shirt, I feel his muscular chest.

In about an hour, he begins to stir. He mumbles slowly. "I had the weirdest dream. I was seventeen. I was back in high school. It was terrible." I rub my hands against his face and stroke them lovingly against his chest. He giggles dreamily. I let out a little laugh. He must be a little woozy from Stan's blow. "Scar," he mumbles.

Feeling down his shirt, I don't see a scar. "Scar, I don't see a Scar." My hands reach down his shirt and continue south. I lean down and whisper into his ear. "I know why you didn't want me to be with Stan. It's because you wanted to be with me." Mark jerks up and rolls onto the floor next to the door. His eyes are filled with panic.

I feel shocked for a moment. Then I get it. He was the type who liked to play games. It made sense. Ned was his dad after all. I smile at him. "You want to play games? I can play games!" I get on my hands and prowl to the edge of the bed like I'm stalking him.

"No, no, no!" he protests, pushing himself against the door. He was nervous. I understood. I had been too, but we were meant to be together.

"I'm a hungry lioness and you're a baby gazelle!" I shout ecstatically. This would be so much fun. "Raw! Raw!" I growl, using my best lioness impersonation. I spring to him.

He leaps up and runs around the room. I eagerly chase after him. "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie! Stop it now!" He jumps onto the bed I leap on after him and chase him continually. He still protests frantically. "Maggie! You don't know how dysfunctional this is! Stop it!" I leap onto the floor, aiming for his feet. I laugh and growl as I chase him. Climbing onto the bed, I grab his shoulders. Ready to spring, he shouts, "Maggie, I'm not the person you think I am!"

Climbing down, I grab his shirt and push him against the wall. "Yes, yes you are!"

He shakes his head wildly. "No, no I'm not!" he shouts.

"Your not. You're right. You're good! You're not like the others!"

His voice is urgent and panicky. "Not like the others! I'm very, very different then the others! So different in fact you and I can never, ever, ever be together! Stop Maggie!"

Stopping from pretending to bite him, I ask, "Why?" I thought he loved frowns and shakes his head. My smile is quickly replaced with one of shock. I slowly sat down on the bed. "Oh, Oh my god. Are you saying you're confused?" I ask, realizing why he didn't want me to be with him.

Mark stares at me for a moment. "I'm very confused. Yes, I'm extremely confused."

I put my face in my hand. Only a girl like me could be stupid enough to fall for a gay guy. "Oh my god, I get it now. I... Your hair is always perfectly quaffed and you have highlights!"

Mark looks at me with a bewildered expression. "What are you talking about?"

It was so obvious! How couldn't I have known before. To answer his question, I respond, "I mean, dude, your jeans are **really **tight." I gesture with my hands.

Pure shock takes over Mark's face. "I'm not gay!" Huh? He's not gay? Now it's my turn to be confused. "I'm in love Maggie! I've been in love. I've been in love with the same girl since I was seventeen, Maggie." He nods gently. For a moment I feel a little hurt. He could have told me! I wouldn't have had to embarrass myself like this if he did. Although I feel mad, I still feel connected to him. Connections last a life time. Who knows? Maybe he'll give up on this girl, and I'll be there for him.

Curiosity prods at me. "Does she got to our school? Do I know her? Tell me her name!"

Mark shakes his head. "No."

"I just want to know her name."

"No, Maggie, no!" He says sternly.

I bend down my head. "Okay." Confidently, I look him in the eye and grab his face. I lean in and whisper, "You tell your girlfriend she better keep a close eye on you!"

"Mm." He responds, but it may be because I'm pinching his lips. I pretend to bite him and then dash out of the room. He may deny it, but we have feelings for each other. I know it in my heart.

For a while, I hang out with my friends and dance to the music. I even flirt with some boys to get Mark jealous, but I don't see him. Finally, I want to confront him about earlier, so I search for him with my friends behind me. They all like Mark too, but it doesn't matter because he's clearly in love with me. I'm about to give up and go home when Padam shouts, "Look he's up on the balcony!"

"And it looks like he's with someone," Cheyenne adds.

My eyes find Mark next to... my mother! I feel my gag reflexes working up. "Mom!" I scream. Unbelievable, he played me for my mother! I really should've seen right through him. Another voice tries to reassure me they're just having a friendly conversation. I start to believe it when Mark does the unthinkable. He leans in and kisses my mother! I knew it! I knew he was in love with my mother Scarlet! Disgusted with myself I wonder why I have to love all the wrong people. First Stan then Mark. My mother pushes him away and slaps him. She runs quickly down the stairs with Mark chasing after her. Trying to reason with her. Mom brushes past me and disappears into the crowd of people. My mouth is hanging open. Mark sees me and desperately walks up to me. "Maggie I..."

"Save it you pervert!" I scream, slapping him in the face. I follow the path where my mother fled. No tears come. I just feel anger. Mark Gold didn't deserve any of my tears. Finally, I find Mom's car. She's in the driver's seat crying. Alex is in the back and is silent. I ask no questions and climb in the car. As soon as I'm in, Mom slams her foot on the gas and we're flying down the road. Now I felt confused. What was going on?


	9. Completing The Puzzle

As I climb out of the shower, I look at myself in the mirror. My mouth is still hanging open from the events that had happened tonight. My blue eyes are so wide that they looked like they were going to pop out of my skull. My eyes. Mark's eyes. Dad's eyes. No Maggie! You're still traumatized. Taking a deep breath, I push myself out of the bathroom to my room across the hall. Alex and Mom both went straight to bed when we got home, but I wasn't tired. My thoughts were still bouncing around my skull. The shower was supposed to clear my mind, but I still felt as confused as ever. What I had thought to be real and wasn't real were now illusions to me.

I pull on a pair of plaid pajama pants and an old purple t-shirt. I still am jittery and excited. There's no way I'm going to be able to fall asleep. Maybe a cup of tea will help. Exiting my room, I put a kettle on the stove. I sit at the table and drum my fingers distractedly until a high pitched cry erupts from the tea kettle. Taking a mug from the cabinet, I pour myself a cup. After taking a sip, I sit down on the couch in the living room. Continuing to sip the tea, something catches my eye on the bookshelf. I place the mug on the table and walk over to the bookshelf. When my fingers fall open the thing my caught, I pull it out. I look down at the 1989 yearbook of Hayden. My parents were seniors that year. The year where their lives changed forever.

I run over to the couch with it and flip it open to the senior's page. I search for "Mike O'Donell". I see his picture and nearly drop the book to the floor. I quickly flip to the basketball page. A picture of my father dressed in his Hayden basketball uniform is there, and below it a picture of him with my very pregnant mother. My mouth drops open. In a caption it said, "I will love you forever my Scar."

Everything clicks at that moment. Mark's blue eyes, his protectiveness over me and Alex, the lecture he gave me at Chris's party, him not being able to be with me, his love for my mother, and how he looks **just **like my dad did when he was seventeen. I didn't know how it was possible, but seventeen year old Mark Gold was my dad, Mike O'Donell.

Someone knocking on the door rouses me from my sleep. Last night bounces around in my head. All of it feels like a dream, but on the living room table the yearbook is opened up to a picture of my dad. No, last night was no dream. I feel sick to my stomach as I stumble to the door.

**Hope you liked this chapter! Please keep reviewing!**

Mom and Alex aren't here, so I'm all by myself. Whatever, axe murders could come and get me! I wearily pull open the door. Well aware I look like a mess, but I don't care. Mark is standing on the front porch. I look him up and down groggily. "Look, Maggie about last night..."

"Oh, just get in here!" I grab his shirt and yank him inside. I quickly close the door once he's in. I plop down on the sofa. "Sit."

He plops down next to me. "Maggie thank you for agreeing to see me. I just want to talk to you about last night."

"Shut up, it's my turn to talk." I snarl.

He looks a little surprised, but goes with it. "Okay, I can take anything you say."

I close my eyes a moment and take a deep breath. How did I get in this mess in the first place? "Mark, ever since I saw you... I knew there was something different about you. You weren't like the other people."

"Look, Maggie. I told you already we can't be together."

"Shut up already! You agreed to let me talk, and that's not even what I was referring to!" I snap.

He looks down. "You're right. I'm sorry."

I take another breath. "Mark, I'm not even sure this possible, and I may just be going insane. I... I know you're my dad!"

He sits there for a few minutes. "Well? Say something!" I demand.

"I... How did you know?" Mark, or should I call him Dad now, asks.

"Well, I didn't at first." I admitted. "It was little things that caught my eye, but it was last night that completed the puzzle."

He smiles and puts his arms around me. "You really are smart, Mags. Especially for figuring this out."

I push him away and have to take a couple more deep breaths. "Please, don't push it. I'm trying my hardest to not completely freak out!"

"Right, sorry." Dad takes his hands away.

"How did this happen anyway?" I demand, gesturing to his seventeen year old self.

"Well, I fell off a bridge and yeah... Pretty weird, huh?"

"You're telling me. I just found out my Dad is my age and I was hitting on him!" I scream hysterically.

"Yeah, pretty much." Dad answers, looking down at the floor.

"Okay, you staying my age is going to be a problem." I point out.

"I don't see why. I've been even closer to you and Alex since the transformation."

"Yeah, but I want a social life again. Second of all, your wife is nearly twenty years older then you, and a romantic relationship between you two is totally inappropriate."

"You're right," Dad agrees.

"Do you know how to reverse it?" I ask.

Dad shakes his head. "Well, me and Ned figured out it was a spirit guide transformation."

I shake my head. "You are beginning to sound like Ned, and a spirit guide? Who might that exactly be?"

"The janitor." he answers.

"Janitor Berkly is a spirit guide? Are you serious! She's about as magical as a ham sandwich." I retort.

"No, not her. This other janitor that only I can see. He's old with a white beard."

"I think you've lost it." I answer, cynically shaking my head.

Dad starts begging me. "Please, Maggie! You have to help me! I love your mother and I don't if she'll listen to me!"

I sigh. "I'll see what I can do, but no promises."

He gives me a giant bear hug. "Thank you Maggie! Thank you!"

"No hugs remember?"

"Sorry," he answers, pushing away while running a hand through his hair. I can't stop staring at him. Sure, I had my dad back. Now I wish I hadn't dug. Why do I always get myself into things? I'm a danger to myself.


	10. Realization

**Okay, I know I have been naughty and haven't updated in a while, but school has just started and it's been very hectic. I know, excuses, excuses, but I'm done with those. For you my dear readers, I have written a new chapter. Enjoy!**

**Oh, and one thing about this chapter, I know these events don't take place in the movie, but Mike/Mark's story needs to be told, and the love story between Mike and Scarlet needs to be brought out into the light.  
**

Bright sunlight greeted my eyes as my alarm clock shrieked in my left ear on the dresser. Sitting up in my bed, I hit the off button, and relished in the silence. The heavenly aroma of coffee drifted in the air, dancing in my nostrils. Monday mornings are always hard for me. I'm still in my lazy, sleep-till-noon mode. Sleepily I climbed out of bed and jumped into the shower, hoping it would wake up my senses.

Refreshed, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself. After it was fastened around me securely, I ventured into my walk in closet to find an outfit for the day.

I settled on a plaid dress and black leggings. Over that, I pulled on a black leather jacket. I am hoping to avoid Mark/Dad today. I'm still not one-hundred percent convinced I'm not over-the-moon insane. Plus, things are still awkward between us, even after our talk. Honestly, I'm freaking out about the whole thing. For instance, before I knew he was my biological father, I tried to hit on him. And, to make matters worse, I tried to seduce him.

Dressed, I slipped out of my room and into the kitchen. Alex was eating a bowl of Captain Crunch over at the table, threatening to overflow at any moment. He looked up at me; a little milk dribbling down his chin. I couldn't help but smile at him.

His eyes brightened and he returned a shy little smile. Even after ignoring him and letting my ex-boyfriend treat him like a punching bag, he forgave me. I am grateful for him. For such a big guy, he's shy and sweet. Nicole better treat him well, or I'm going to kick some head cheerleader ass.

Mom looked terrible. Her face was puffy and tear-stained. Her usually beautiful crown of golden hair now looked like animals had been living in it. She was still dressed in her fluffy blue bathrobe. This is not a good sign. She hasn't worn it this long since her and Dad first filed the divorce. I couldn't help but curse Mark/Dad out for kissing her. I still don't know what he told her, but whatever it was, it really shook her up.

I popped a piece of toast into my mouth. It was a little burned, but not too bad. I washed it down with some hot coffee, nearly scalding my throat. After cleaning up my breakfast mess, it was time to go. I gave my mother a goodbye kiss on the cheek. She took my hand in hers and gave it a quick gentle squeeze.

"Bye," I called, shutting the door behind me. Outside, the air was cool, and a gentle breeze blew against my cheeks. The sky was a brilliant, cloudless blue. Patches of sunlight dappled the well manicured lawns along the street.

After marveling for a moment of the morning's beauty, I started my way down to the bus stop. A loud purr of an engine broke the peaceful serenity of the morning. Pretending not to notice, I quickened my pace. "Maggie!" called a voice. Even then, I didn't stop. I ignored the caller. Instead, I broke into a speed walk.

To my dismay, Mark/Dad pulled up next to me in his fancy Audi R8. "Maggie," he repeated.

I stopped and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath before facing him. "What do you want?" I demanded, sounding a little harsher than I intended.

He didn't even flinch at my steely voice. In fact, he wasn't fazed by it at all; he was smiling at me. I scowled back at him. "Would you like a ride?" He offered.

"No," I said, speaking through my teeth, "I'm good with the bus."

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Maggie. I'm not going to bite. Besides, I know you hate the bus."

"Maybe I like it now!" I snapped. "And I'd take it over riding with you any day!"

"Man, you are grumpy today."

"Yeah, so?" I snarled. "Girls get pissed when they find out their dad is seventeen and let them totally humiliate themselves!"

"I'm sorry," he said, nearly falling over with laughter.

I angrily turned away and started walking again. He must have noticed because he drove up next to me again. This time his face was serious. "Maggie really- I am sorry. I should've told you earlier."

But his apology didn't make me feel better. It only increased my anger. "It's too late for that, old man! I mean young man! No- you- never mind- ugh!" Turning on my heel, I started to walk away again.

To no avail, for he simply followed me. "Maggie, just get in the car." He sighed.

"No," I said stubbornly, folding my arms over my chest to prove my point. I knew I was acting childish, but he deserved it.

"Maggie.."

"No!" I interrupted.

I put my back to him, tilting my head up, to show him I wasn't listening. "Margaret Sarah O'Donell," he said sternly, "I am your father. Get in the car now."

I faced him again, charging up to the car. I looked him straight in the eye. "You may be my father, or used to be, anyway. But look at you! You're freaking seventeen!"

"I know," was all he said. He looked so miserable. My anger instantly faded, until it was gone completely. I opened the passenger door and climbed in next to him. He looked up at me, surprised.

"Well, start the car. I don't want to be late." I directed, avoiding his gaze.

He nodded and stepped on the gas petal. The car lurched forward, and I felt like I was going to puke up my guts. I gripped the seat to steady myself. "Sorry," he apologized, "I'm still not used to the power of this engine." He eased up on the gas and the car slowed.

I stared at him. His soft floppy hair was in his eyes a little. Under his tight-fitting shirt, I could clearly see his six pack. "Ugh, why couldn't you be ugly!" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

He faced me, laughing a little, clearly amused. "Ha! You admit I'm good-looking!"

I sulkily crossed my arms. "Look, just because you're my dad, doesn't mean I won't clock you."

He quickly fixed his gaze back on the road and changed the topic. "How's your mother doing?" He asked casually.

"Not to well," I admitted. His grip increased on the wheel, turning his knuckles white. "What did you tell her?"

"What?" He asked, locking his blue eyes onto me.

"After you kissed her, I mean."

"Oh," he sighed, "everything."

"What!" I shrieked, bumping my head on the ceiling. Wincing, I quickly sat down. "Why did you do that!?"

"I was afraid of..."

"Nathaniel." I finished. He flinched. "To be honest Da- I mean Mark, I don't think you helped your case. Mom's more confused than ever. She probably doesn't know what to think. I mean, a seventeen year old claiming to be her ex-husband, yeah, crazy."

"We're technically not divorced yet," he grumbled. "I'm still her husband, and I love her."

"The point is, Romeo, I'm telling you right now, she will never take you back if you don't find a way to change into your old self again." Hayden High School came into view. "Drop me off here." I instructed.

"Why? I could just-"

"No," I said sharply. "Don't think people have forgotten about your little stunt at the party. No offense, but I don't want to be seen with the school perv."

Instead of arguing, he pulled up at the curb to let me out. As I was getting out, he stopped me. "Hey, can I take you somewhere tonight?"

My eyes widened. "You don't mean a date, do you?"

To my relief, he shook his head. "No, I just want to talk. We could go somewhere to eat. Don't worry it won't be a baby place. It definitely won't be Sweetie's Sweet Treats."

I shook my head. "No, I want to go there."

He looked confused, but I got out of the car before he could ask me, my last words were: "Pick me up at eight."

* * *

By eight, I was ready to go out with Mark/Dad. My mother looked at me suspiciously when I asked her if I could go out. I told her I was going over to Padma's house to study for our history exam. If I told her it was Mark, she would definitely not let me go.

Although she wasn't happy about it, she finally gave me permission. Now I stood by the door waiting. My pocket vibrated. It was a text from Mark. It said: "I'm here." I hurried outside and walked until I reached the stop sign near the end of the street, a block away from my house.

Parked next to the curb, was Mark's Audi R8, humming slightly. I opened the door and slid in, buckling myself up automatically. Mark/Dad smiled at me. "Hey Maggie. Ready to go?"

"Sure," I answered flatly. He nodded and started up the car.

Soon we were winding down familiar streets. I looked out at every house by the side of the road. The flashing blue light of the TV could be seen from the living room windows. I imagined a family gathered around the TV. Perhaps they were watching the evening news, or maybe even some cheesy family sitcom or game show.

A memory long forgotten flickered behind my eyes. I was little, probably about five or six. Family Feud was on TV, and my family was watching it. My parents were curled up together on the couch, hand in hand, my father kissing my mother's head, calling her beautiful.

It was replaced with another one. Like before, Family Feud was on, but no one seemed to be watching. Over in the kitchen, my parents were screaming and throwing things at each other. Both Alex and I huddled behind the sofa, covering our ears with our hands, in hope it would block out the hurtful words.

"Maggie, are you okay?" Mark asked, shaking me gently.

Instantly I snapped out of it and pulled away from him. "Yeah, just fine." I said coldly.

"We're here." He said, pointing out the window.

He was right. The familiar neon sign of Sweetie's Sweet Treats was lit up, casting the empty parking lot in bright green and pink light. I nodded and climbed out of the car, shivering as a cold breeze blew against me, raising goosebumps along the pale skin of my arms. "Here," he said, draping his coat over my shoulders, rubbing them to warm me up.

"Thanks." I sighed.

The bell above the door dinged as we walked in. I was surprised to see this place so empty. It was always packed whenever I came here. A young waitress was even more surprised to see costumers this late. She led us to an empty table for two near the front bay window.

Mark sat down across from me. Placing his hand on the table, I saw his wedding ring. "You wore that?"

Shocked he looked up. "Of course, I'm married, aren't I?"

Before I could retort, the waitress came in and asked what we wanted to order. Mark ordered the king sized caramel sundae with nuts. After attempting to flirt with Mark, she turned to me and blandly asked me what I wanted. "Cherry Dip, please." I said, smiling sweetly as I handed her my menu.

She gave a small seductive wave to Mark, promising to be right back. As soon as she was out of ear-shot, Mark said, "I thought you hated the Cherry Dip."

"Oh, I do." I answered.

"Then why did you order it?" He asked.

"Let's just say it is for experimental purposes."

He looked confused, but didn't pursue the question. Right on cue, the waitress came back with our ice cream, and there was a full bowl of Cherry Dip in front of me. Perfect.

Slowly I took a deep breath and shoveled a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth, gagging on a sour cherry. Eventually, I managed to choke it down. I looked up at Mark/Dad and imagined him older, as my real dad, sitting there eating a bowl of ice cream that could feed an entire country. As I closed my eyes, I held the image in my mind. Another bitter spoon of Cherry Dip was swallowed. I kept doing the same thing until the entire bowl was almost empty. On the last bite, I thought one word: Please.

My eyes opened slowly, to savor what was about to happen. To my utter disappointment, it was still seventeen year old Mike O'Donell sitting in front of me. I wanted to scream, "It's not fair!" I really thought this would bring him back. _Of course not you idiot!_ I thought. I threw down my napkin, and stood up rigid with anger. Mark/Dad looked up from the spoonful of ice cream drifting near his mouth. "This should cover it," I hissed, throwing a wad of bills on the table.

Turning on my heel, I raced out the door. Behind me, I heard the clattering of a spoon and a chair scraping on the linoleum floor. Outside, the clouds had parted and a few stars twinkled above. It was a pathetic number; only about two or three in the vast expanse of the night sky. There is simply to much pollution here. If you want to really see the Milky Way, you go to the mountains. A while back, Dad promised me and Alex he would take us up there and show us what a real night sky looks like. It never happened, of course. Reality caught up with him, I guess, and that promise was left in the back of his mind, long forgotten.

I wasn't really aiming for the center park, but somehow I ended up there anyway. The normally busy fields filled with picnickers, children, and the occasional jogger or two was now vacant, giving it an eerie lonely feeling. I plopped down on a stone park bench sitting beneath a grove tree. I looked up again at the sky, dreaming about what it might be like out there, beyond Earth, beyond the universe, if there is such a place. I don't know if it's normal, but I wonder about strange things like that sometimes.

There was suddenly the crunching of leaves, and I could make out a figure walking over to me. As it came closer into my line of sight, I quickly realized it was Dad. He must have followed me here. Painfully, I realized I would have to stop referring to him as my dad. People are bound to overhear a conversation between us, and it is certainly not normal to call a boy your own age your father. From now on, he would be just Mark, a boy from school.

He stopped just a few feet from me, his warm breath billowing out in little clouds in the chilly air. His hands were jammed in his jean pockets. "You always follow me," I accused sharply.

"What kind of father would I be if I let my teenage daughter walk completely alone in the dark on an empty street?" He said, clearing his throat and sitting next to me on the bench.

I don't know why or how, but I finally cracked. "Seriously, would you stop using that term so heavily? You may be my father, but I can't be your daughter anymore, not while you're like that, anyway. So just pretend you don't know me at school, okay? That goes for Alex, too. You already messed our lives up enough already!"

"I can't do that." He whispered.

"Why not?" I snapped. "You got everything you wanted! You have a second chance now to do what you wanted with your life! Alex, Mom, and I aren't your concern anymore! You're free of your mistakes now, yet you can't move on!"

He looked horrified. "Maggie, you were never a mistake! I mean, yeah, I was afraid when I first found out your mother was pregnant. I was only seventeen and I had no job to support us whatsoever. But the moment I held you in my arms, those fears instantly vanished. I have always loved you." He looked me straight in the eye. "You will always be my little girl."

Emotion rocked me back and forth. I was overcome with so many things that I can't even describe. "What if you can never change back?" I whispered, sniffling. I hadn't even realized I was crying. Awkwardly, I swiped the tears out of the corners of my eyes.

"Your place in my heart will never change." He answered, squeezing me against him tightly.

"Dad," I whispered, "I missed you."


	11. The Worst Kiss of My Life

They say admitting your feelings is satisfying, like taking a bowling ball off your chest. And, I'll admit, my bowling ball was sure as hell a heavy one. But now as the cold night wind blew against my face, I felt more content than I had in a long time. Maybe it just was opening up my feelings I kept penned in all those years, mixing with resentment and nasty teen hormones. Or maybe I really did like Cherry Dip. Either way, the frigid night didn't seem so cold anymore; I felt enlightened, euphoric, ditzy in a way, almost like I was a drunkard slap-happy on the streets, keeling over between bouts of laughter.

Okay, so maybe not that happy. First off, I'm not even sure what it's like to be drunk. If Mom or Dad ever found out, Maggie would be the main course of Meatloaf Mondays, especially with Dad on constant guard. Though he couldn't exactly ground me, at least not like he was now, he would follow me around and pester me more than he already does, up to the point where it really pisses me off. Sometimes I have to shoo him away three times before he'll actually leave.

And sometimes he won't even leave then. He sheepishly admitted he would park outside the house some nights and sleep in the car; just to make sure we were okay. I had rolled my eyes. Men and their abnormally large egos. Besides, you think I would've noticed an Audi R8 parked outside my house each night, that just goes to show how oblivious I am to details like that.

As my mom's house came into view, Dad pulled into the familiar driveway. Laughing euphorically, for the first time true laughter, I stumbled up to the porch and flung open the front door. Flipping on the lights I set my keys down, and nearly had a heart attack when I walked into the living room.

Mom was sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea clenched in her hands. Alex was over in the chair next to her, casting me an apologetic look that said: "This is one hundred percent her diabolical plan. I want nothing to do with it."

Mom skeptically stirred her tea, her mouth pressed into a thin line."Hmm... studying, are you sure you about that, Margaret?"

When it seemed like things couldn't get worse, of course, Dad came running into the living room. "Hey, Mags, you left your jacket in the car..." He faltered when he took in the tense atmosphere. His eyes took in Mom and they softened with love and longing. "Scar."

"Do not call me _Scar_! Do not call me anything, because you have lost the privilege to be here!" Mom snapped, her brown eyes smoldering with dangerous fire. "Only my ex-husband called me that."

"Mike O'Donell is still your husband!" Mark fired back, balling his hands into fists at his sides. "You're not even legally divorced!"

Mom's voice was steely. "Because he ran away from his responsibility. If he ever loved me or his children, he would've stayed like a true man and done what was right for his family, but as usual, he has proved me wrong!"

The expression on Dad's face looked like he had just been stabbed in the gut with a poisonous blade. He almost sounded desperate, pleading. "What if he didn't want to? What if he tried to do the best for his family because he knew they wouldn't accept him? He still loves you, Scar."

Some sort of emotion flickered behind Mom's eyes, but her eyes quickly hardened again, her voice rough. "No."

"Yes." Dad took a step forward. "Look Scarlet, just listen to me... I..."

It was like the last thread was cut. I knew what Dad was planning to do, and I couldn't let it happen. I wasn't going to lose my whole family tonight. It might've been because I was so desperate... or just plain crazy, but I took Dad by the shoulders and... kissed him. The whole room went quiet in shock. The kiss probably only lasted a couple moments, but it felt like several hours to me before we finally broke apart. It had to be one of the most painful things I've ever done. I was close to throwing up. Quickly I gasped, "Bye, Mark." I pushed him out the door, the whole time he was staring at me, his face completely blank with shock as I slammed the door in his face without another word.

Turning back to my family, I took in each of their reactions. Alex's mouth was hanging open with stupefaction, while Mom looked she wanted to throw something. Through gritted teeth, she commanded, "Go to your room, Alex. I need to talk to your sister alone."

Alex nodded and walked away obediently, his face chalk white. With an audible gulp, I faced my mother. But before I could speak, she demanded lethally, "What the hell was that, Maggie?"

"A kiss." I said in a small, innocent voice.

For a second, it looked like Mom was going to lecture me, or hit me, or ground me, but she slumped back down on the sofa and said. "I never want you to see him again. No arguing. Now go to bed."

"But.."

Her voice had a sharp edge to it. "I said no arguing."

Defeated, I retired to my bedroom for the night. But, I was surprised to see an unexpected visitor sitting on my bed. It was Alex. His face was solemn.

"Maggie, I know that Mark is Dad."

**Sorry that the chapter is so short, but a lot happens in this chapter, and I left it off with a pretty awesome cliffhanger, if I do say so myself. As always, read and review my lovelies! **


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